In a surprise move, the government of Chad - an ally in the fight against Islamist militants in the region - ended the defence co-operation pact on November 28.
Chad's government said that while amicable ties with France were not in question, military bases were not needed.
Terms and conditions of the withdrawal and whether any French troops will remain in the central African country altogether have yet be to agreed but on Tuesday the first Mirage warplanes returned to their base in eastern France.
"It marks the beginning of the return of French equipment stationed in N'Djamena," army spokesperson Colonel Guillaume Vernet said after two Mirage fighter jets left Chad.
France has already pulled its soldiers out of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger following military coups in those west African countries and spreading anti-French sentiment.
The departure from Chad will end decades of French military presence in the Sahel region and ends direct French military operations against Islamist militants there.
France still has about 1000 troops in Chad.
Vernet said a calendar to drawdown its operations would still take several weeks for the two countries to finalise.
Chad military spokesman Chanane Issakha Acheikh confirmed the departure of the French warplanes and said that the public would be kept informed on the withdrawal "until the definitive departure of the (French) forces".
There were no indications France received advance notice of Chad's decision to end its defence co-operation although a French envoy to President Emmanuel Macron delivered a report last month containing proposals on how France could reduce its military presence in Chad, Gabon and Ivory Coast.
France had stationed military aircraft in Chad virtually continuously since independence in 1960.
with DPA
